Rendezvous by the Lake
by Placid Destruction
Summary: COMPLETE! Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.
1. Year One

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. These characters belong to JK Rowling. The plot, however, belongs to me...well, most of it.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year One**

It was first year and James was troublesome.

It was the second week of school and he had decided to abandon his friends for a little while and explore the grounds a bit.

He had not strayed far from the castle when he noticed a girl sitting under a beech tree by the lake. He had noticed her once or twice before around school. She was a first year Gryffindor along with him. That was the extent of his knowledge of her, he was afraid. He did not even know her name.

He took a moment to examine her from afar. She was very pretty. Even _he_ had to admit that. She had thick auburn hair that reached her shoulders. Her skin would normally be considered pale, but it suited her. It would have looked awkward had it been just a shade darker. She looked short and petite, but it was hard to tell considering she was sitting down.

He studied her for a minute or two trying to figure out if she was worth talking to.

James was a good judge of character and he prided himself on the fact that he could tell a person's personality before even meeting said person. He could tell she was studious and a bit bookish just by the fact that she was reading a book. Judging by her red hair, she would probably have a ghastly temper.

Keeping all of these things in mind, he approached her cautiously.

"Hullo," he greeted, stepping out in front of her.

She looked up from her book slowly.

"May I help you?" she asked simply.

James was about to respond when he noticed her eyes. They were they most striking shade of green he had ever seen before. They reminded him of emeralds, newly polished and shined.

Finally, he remembered his purpose for being there.

"Yes," he replied, hoping he did not sound as stupid as he felt. "I don't believe we've met. I'm James Potter."

He held out a hand for her to shake. She grasped it gently. He had been right in assuming she was petite. His hands were twice the size of hers.

"I'm Lily Evans," she said.

Releasing his hand and raising it to shield her eyes from the sun, Lily studied James briefly before giving a short huff of indignation.

"I know who you are," she said in an angry tone. "You set my owl on fire just last week."

James gaped.

"That was _your_ owl?"

"Yes, that was _my_ owl," she cried. "Would it have really made a difference whose owl it was? That fact of the matter is, you set it on _fire_!"

He had been right about her temper.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," he bumbled. "It wasn't my idea. Sirius-"

"I don't want to hear any excuses," she interrupted. "I don't care whose idea it was. However, I wouldn't mind an apology."

He sighed.

"I'm really sorry about your owl, Lily," he said, hoping he sounded sincere. "I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

"I suppose," she sighed after an elongated pause.

He flashed her a smile.

"Thanks," he said. "No hard feelings then?"

She shook her head.

"Good." He nodded in approval. "So how is your owl doing?"

She glared daggers at him. If looks could kill, he would have died immediately after posing his last question.

"It _died_," she spat. "It died from the burns your little fire caused."

He felt his jaw drop yet again.

"Lily," he whispered, crouching down next to her. "I'm sorry. I am really sorry."

She merely turned her head away from him.

"I thought you said no hard feelings," James joked, trying to catch her attention once again.

"I lied," she said through clenched teeth.

James was taken aback.

"This is all some kind of sick joke to you, isn't it Potter?" she accused, turning her head back in his direction and piercing him with her gaze once again.

"N-no," he faltered. He wished she would close her eyes so he would not be able to see the fire within them.

"Yes it is," she continued. "I've heard about you. You and your friends pride yourselves on your little pranks. I'm just another statistic in your book. I'm just one more person you've pranked. What are you doing here? Do you always interrogate your victims to see how they are affected by your pranks? Would you like to know how I feel?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure you're mad," he whimpered.

"Of course I'm mad," she cried. "You killed by brand new owl by setting fire to it and then come and rub it in my face."

Lily paused to catch her breath. While she was calming, James took the opportunity to speak up.

"I did _not_ come to rub anything in your face," he began. "Nor did I set your owl on fire. That was entirely the doing of one Sirius Black. He is the one you should be yelling at. I just happen to be his best friend who was sitting next to him at the time. I had nothing to do with it. Honest."

That seemed to settle Lily down a bit.

"But everyone says that you and your friends are nothing but a troublesome group of pranksters," she told him.

James snorted.

It was only the second week of school and already his reputation preceded him. That had to be a record.

"That's a lie," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back. "I'm sure Hogwarts is no different than any other school. People love to spread rumors, though I fail to see the excitement in it."

Lily nodded.

"I suppose you're right," she agreed. "I had no right to assume you were a bad person, though you'll be sure to tell your friend Sirius Black that he is on my blacklist. No pun intended."

James laughed. He had once again been right in guessing that he would like this girl. Lily Evans was certainly fun to talk to. He decided to see what else he could learn about her before his friends came in search of him.

"So," he began, wildly searching for a topic for conversation. He once again noticed the tome in her hand. "What are you reading?"

She held it up for him to see. It was her Charms textbook. So he had been right in assuming she was studious. Damn, he was good at that.

"Charms," he read with a slight laugh. "I don't like the subject very much myself. I think Transfiguration is more my style."

Lily wrinkled her nose.

"No," she said. "Charms seems very interesting. So far, it's my favorite. I've been reading about it every chance I get. It will be challenging, but fun. Transfiguration looks like entirely too much work. It seems rather difficult and not at all interesting."

"History of Magic doesn't seem like much fun either," James added.

"Actually," Lily stated matter-of-factly. "The actual history behind it is terribly interesting, but the way in which it is taught is what makes it so unpopular."

"Erm, no," James said, leaning up against the tree. "It's definitely a waste of time. It's not like we've never heard all those stories before."

"I haven't," Lily said. "I'm Muggle-born."

"Oh!" This surprised James. "So this is only your second week in the magical world?"

"Basically."

"What do you think of it all?" he asked, gesturing to the castle and everything around it.

"It's like something from a story," Lily sighed. "I half expect to wake up one morning to find that it's all been a dream and that none of this exists. But if that's the case, I don't want to wake up."

James gazed at her for a moment. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

Deciding to break the silence, James reached over and pinched Lily on the arm.

"Ouch!" she cried. "James Potter, what was that for?"

"Now you know you're not dreaming," he said with a grin.

She couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem," he said casually. "So what's it like being a Muggle? I've always wondered how they manage to get on without magic."

"They adjust," Lily told him. "It's not hard to survive without magic when you don't even know it exists. They simply have to work harder in everything they do. They can't just wave a wand and the dishes will be clean. They have to wash them by hand. They can't just apparate or floo anywhere they want to go. They have to take the time to get there by foot or car or plane or something. It's not easy, but they don't know any different. That's just their way of life."

James shook his head in disbelief.

"It amazes me," he said. "Just how little they notice. I'm surprised we've been able to keep our world a secret from them."

Lily nodded.

"I'm sure there have been accidents when Muggles have found out things they weren't supposed to," she said. "But the ministry takes care of that don't they?"

"Yeah," James replied. "My dad works for the ministry. He has to go behind people and clean up their messes all the time. When a Muggle sees something they aren't supposed to, he has to put a Memory Charm on them. It's a lot of work."

"You seem very interested in Muggles," Lily observed.

"Muggles are very interesting creatures," James responded. "I'm going to take Muggle Studies in third year to learn about them."

"Muggle Studies?" Lily frowned. "That's actually a class?"

James nodded.

"And you just sit around and learn about Muggles?" she continued. "Like they're some kind of animal?"

"Yes," James responded coolly. " But it's not like we dissect them and dig in their brains or anything. In Muggle Studies, you learn about how they live and interact and stuff. It sounds interesting, but I guess since you're Muggle-born it's a lot less interesting to you. It's just like how you want to learn about the magical world because you know so little about it. Well, I want to learn about the Muggle world because I know close to nothing about it."

"I guess I understand," Lily said slowly. "But I don't think I would take that class."

"No," James said, studying Lily a bit. "I think you would like Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy."

"How could you possibly know that?" Lily questioned.

"I can just tell by your personality." James shrugged. "You would like Care of Magical Creatures because you're so interested in learning about our world and learning about the creatures in it and that class would be something to help you learn about it. You would like Arithmancy because you like to learn and Arithmancy is a difficult class. It would be a challenge even for you."

She watched him closely.

"How is it you can tell that much about me after only knowing me for a few minutes?" she asked.

"It's a gift," he said cockily. "Actually, before I met you I could tell that you were studious and had a frightful temper."

"How could you tell?"

"Well, you were reading a book and you have red hair."

Lily glanced down at her book.

"And just from that, you knew what I was like?" she asked.

He nodded.

"That's interesting," she said. "You must watch people all the time."

"Not really," he said. "But watch."

He pointed to a girl who had just hurried out of the castle.

"She gets upset easily," James told Lily. "And she's always punctual."

"How-"

"See how she's rushing around?" he asked.

Lily nodded.

"She must have somewhere to go," he told her. "And now she's looking around frantically. She's getting upset over something."

The girl caught sight of Lily and James by the lake and hurried over.

"Excuse me," she said in a voice that hinted she was very near hysterics. "Have either of you seen a magazine out here?"

"No," Lily and James answered simultaneously.

The girl all but burst into tears.

"I can't seem to find my latest copy of _Witch Weekly _and I'm scheduled to be a tutoring session in less than ten minutes," she sobbed. "I don't know what I will do if I don't find it before then."

"Er, do you need the magazine for your tutoring session?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

"No," the girl replied. "But I need to find it because I haven't read it yet and I don't want to be late-"

"Well good luck then," James interrupted. "I'm sure if you keep looking, you'll find it somewhere."

The girl started crying and ran back to the castle.

"See?" he asked, poking Lily in the arm.

"That was scary," she told him. "You're really good at that."

"Yep." He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

"You know what I find incredible?" Lily asked.

"What?"

"That the sunset always manages to look like that with or without magic," Lily said breathlessly.

James opened his eyes to see the sun setting behind the lake. Hundreds of different shades of reds and oranges and yellows blended together in a way that no artist could capture.

James looked at Lily who was staring listlessly out at the lake.

"So about your owl…" James started.

He succeeded in accomplishing what he had been trying to do.

Lily stiffened next to him.

"Don't start with that bloody owl again Potter," she said warningly.

"Okay," he surrendered. "Fine."

He noticed the few students who had been outside starting to head back to the castle. I was probably dinnertime.

"I think it's time for supper," he said. "You want to walk back to the Great Hall?"

She nodded and he helped her stand.

As they were passing by the lake, Lily looked down at the darkening water.

"Is there really a giant squid in there?" she asked.

"Of course there is," James told her. "Why would anyone lie about a giant squid?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to see it?" he asked.

"Not really," she began, but before she had a chance to finish, James had shoved her so hard she fell into the water.

"Have fun with the squid, Evans," he called to her.

"Potter!" she spluttered. "You said all those things people say are just rumors. I trusted you!"

"Well, Evans," he said slowly. "It would appear that I lied to you. Welcome to Hogwarts."

Laughing to himself and ignoring her curses, he jogged back to the castle for supper.

He would have to tell Sirius about this one. It was one of the best pranks he had pulled so far. Poor unsuspecting Lily.

When he had reached the castle doors, he looked back to see her drying herself with a charm.

It had certainly been funny even if she didn't think so.

He entered the Great Hall fully aware of the fact that he would have to face the wrath of Lily Evans later but also fully intent on buying her a new owl first thing in the morning.

And this time, he would not set it on fire.


	2. Year Two

**Year Two**

It was second year and Lily was naïve.

She was sitting by the lake with her feet dangling in the water. She was thinking, just thinking.

She was taken aback when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind.

"Guess who," a voice said in her ear.

"Potter!" she yelped, springing to her feet and scurrying away from the lake as fast as she could.

"Now, now, Evans," James said with a shake of his head. "I'm not going to push you in the lake. I've done that before. It's a used trick. Why would I go and do something like that again?"

"Then what are you up to?" Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Whatever do you mean?" James asked innocently.

"You're _always_ up to something," she muttered.

"Not today," he replied.

He lay down in the grass and looked at the sky.

"So how have you been, Evans?" he asked. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you in, what, three weeks?"

"I liked it that way," Lily muttered.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you to speak up?" James scolded. "It's not very ladylike to mumble like that."

"Are you my mother?" Lily spat.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Damn you, Potter."

"Aww, Lily," James pouted. "That wasn't very nice. You hurt my feelings."

"Good."

"What did I tell you about that incoherent muttering?" he berated.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I saw that," James said sharply. "That's not ladylike either."

"Screw being ladylike!" she exclaimed.

He gasped in mock horror and covered his mouth.

"I'd have thought better of you, Lily," he said. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"You sound like Sirius," she told him. "And stop calling me Lily. It makes it sound like we're friends."

"Aren't we?" he asked.

"No, we are most certainly not!"

"That hurts," he said, placing his hand over his heart.

Lily scoffed.

"So what do you really want, Potter?" she asked.

"I've just come to bid a friendly greeting and to make sure you are getting along well," he said innocently.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You don't believe me?" he asked.

"I most certainly do not," she said firmly.

"What must I do to prove that I can really be a good person?"

"You would have to go back in time and redo all of first and second years," Lily said.

James seemed to consider this for a moment.

"That can be arranged," he finally said. "I will need permission from the Ministry and bit of help from my friends I'm afraid, but it's all worth it for you, luv."

"How dare you mock me," Lily seethed. "I should teach you to bother me…"

He caught her wrist with his hand as she was reaching for her wand.

"Let me go, Potter," she insisted. "Let me go!"

"No," he said firmly and caught her other hand as she made to slap him with it.

He chuckled.

"Not quite fast enough," he muttered.

Lily let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," she said. "What do you want?"

"I just want to know why you dislike me so much," he said simply.

"I dislike you because you never leave me alone and you're always coming up with new ways to make my life miserable," Lily told him.

"So if I just _left you alone, _you wouldn't hate me anymore?" he asked.

"Yes."

He paused for a moment to contemplate his options.

"No, sorry," he said after a short pause. "Can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because you fascinate me, my dear Evans," James said.

Lily gave a strangled cry of frustration.

"You see," James continued. "Ever since I first met you last year in this exact location, I'll have you know, I've found you to be a most extraordinary person. You are extremely intelligent yet you can't seem to be able to take a joke. Every time we pull a prank, you act like it's the crime of the century. It's terribly annoying yet amusing at the same time. I can't quite figure out what makes you tick, but one day I'll discover what goes on inside your head and you will rue the day you messed with James Potter."

Lily shook her head in amusement.

"You should hear yourself, Potter," she teased. "You sound like the villain in an old romance novel trying to defeat the brave and noble hero. Only, you're a bit more presumptuous than most which puts you at a slight disadvantage."

"I don't know what you are talking about," James said in a sarcastic tone. "_I _am the brave and noble hero and _you _are the villain who must be defeated. The townspeople have nothing to fear. I will protect them by thwarting you and your dastardly plans."

Lily giggled.

"You're so over the top, Potter," she laughed. "But it's funny when you're not trying to ruin my life with your pranks."

"Ruin your life?" James cried, jumping to his feet. "Why I never! I would never dream of doing such a thing. You must be that poor, confused damsel in distress I was told to rescue. Oh, I'm so glad I found you before it's too late. Who knows how much longer you would have been able to stand the torture of the lies the evil prince has been feeding you. But now I have found you and after I fight the evil prince, we will ride off into the sunset on my noble steed and live happily ever after. The end."

"But where, oh Prince Charming, is the evil prince, or your noble steed for that matter?" Lily questioned in a sweet voice.

"Why does that matter?" James retorted. "I will find the dark Prince erm…Prince Sirius some other time! Quick! Before it is too late! We must flee this place at once!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Lily asked.

James silenced her and raised his hand as if reaching for something.

Several seconds later, a broom came hurtling towards them and landed neatly in James's raised hand.

"How-?" Lily began, but James cut her off.

"There is no time for questions, milady," he said as he mounted his broom.

Lily glanced warily at the hand he extended to her. She was not sure she should take it. It could be another one of his ruthless pranks.

But he did not wait for her. Losing his patience, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the broom along with him.

Lily shut her eyes to avoid seeing the ground growing far away, the lake and trees shrinking as they rose steadily higher. She clung to James without even realizing it, but he did. He noticed the way her arms wrapped around him and how the higher they went, the tighter her hold on him got.

"My, my, Lily," he teased. "You aren't afraid, are you?"

"No," she said firmly, opening her eyes and loosening her grip around his middle. "Of course not. That would be stupid."

"And a bit childish, don't you think?" he continued to tease. "I mean, you can't live in the Wizarding world and be afraid of heights. It's almost unnatural. Everybody loves to fly."

"Yes," Lily said shakily. "I know, but I don't quite trust you. Do you think we could land now?"

"As you wish," James replied.

He brought the broom down so that their toes barely touched the ground, but then flew out over the lake.

"Potter," Lily said warningly. "I want to get down on dry land _this minute_."

"Or what?" James asked. "What will you do if I refuse to move the broom?"

"I'll- I'll-" Lily stammered. "I'll push you off the broom into the lake and then fly myself to safety."

"Will you?" James asked mockingly. "I'd like to see you try."

Lily hesitated for a moment.

"Oh, all right then," she said finally.

She gave a feeble attempt to push him into the lake, but even with all her efforts, he barely even budged.

"Tsk, tsk, Evan," James said. "That was pathetic. Is that really the best you can do?"

"No!" Lily said firmly.

She tried once again to push him, but once again failed.

With a huff, she gave up.

"Are you quite finished yet?" he asked.

Lily sighed in defeat.

"Yes."

James cheered for himself and took a victory lap around the grounds on his broom, taking Lily along with him.

"Potter!" she shrieked. "This isn't funny! Let me down!"

"I thought you said you weren't scared," James smirked.

"I am!" Lily cried. "I am hopelessly afraid of heights. I can't stand being on a broom. I just want to get down. Let me down!"

She hit him on the arm but quickly put her hand back on the broom to steady herself.

"Ow!" James winced, rubbing his arm where Lily had hit him. "You hit hard for a girl."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Lily muttered, trying not to look down.

"Just don't do it again," James laughed.

"I can't make any promises," Lily said through clenched teeth.

James took the hint and brought the broom back to the ground.

Lily quickly hopped off before he could change his mind and take off again.

"So," he began. "What were you doing before I dropped in for my visit?"

"Thinking," Lily said simply.

He nodded and watched silently as she put her shoes and socks back on.

A loud war cry made her jump slightly. She turned to see Sirius Black jump out from behind a tree.

"I have come to take back Princess Lily," he said. "I must return her to her rightful home with me!"

He threw his head back and let out what he considered to be an evil laugh.

Lily giggled.

"You heard that conversation?" she asked.

"Silence woman," Sirius cried. "You have no say in this."

James quickly jumped to his feet.

"Prince Sirius," he said loudly. "I will not allow you to take Princess Lily. She belongs with me now. If you want her, you will have to kill me first."

Sirius pulled out his wand.

"So be it," he muttered darkly.

James drew his wand and the two began to sword fight.

Lily laughed all throughout the scene. It was amazing how immature these two boys were. They acted like a couple of six year olds.

"Face it," Sirius cried. "You will never win!"

"Good always triumphs over evil!" James said.

With that, James thrust his sword at Sirius, hitting him in the chest. The latter stumbled backwards and fell to his knees.

"Curse you," he whispered hoarsely before letting his head fall back and his eyes close.

"He's dead!" Lily cried. "You did it!"

She ran to James and hugged him. Then, realizing who it was she was hugging, she quickly let go.

James cleared his throat.

"You belong to me now," he said with a grin.

"I belong to no one," Lily huffed.

She turned away from him and folded her arms over her chest. He spun her back around to face him again.

"You belong to me," James repeated. "And I deserve a kiss as my reward."

Before Lily knew what was happening, James Potter was leaning in to kiss her. She did not know how to react. Luckily, she did not have to.

Leaping up from his position on the ground, Sirius Black started to run, catching Lily by the arm as he did so and dragging her along with him.

"Black!" James cried. "You cheated! You're supposed to be dead!"

"That's why _I _am the bad guy," Sirius called back. "And _you_ are the loser."

Lily simply laughed and allowed herself to be pulled along. James Potter came chasing after them. Lily simply stuck her tongue out at him.

The three twelve year olds spent the better part of an hour running around and just being themselves.

When Lily began to grow tired, she stopped and so did the other two boys.

"So where do you think Snape is?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," James replied. "But I think he's overdue for his daily visit."

"We should go find him," Sirius stated.

"We should," James agreed.

And with that, the two boys wandered off to cause trouble.

And just that quickly, Lily Evans was left alone and forgotten by the lake.

But she liked it that way.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you SO much to the people who reviewed. There were just a few specific things I wanted to mention: 

1. The crying girl was just a random character I created for plot purposes. She doesn't have a name and you won't see her again.

2. We know thatLily and James have a love/hate relationship eventually. But we don't know how long they were like that. In this story, they are sort of friendly towards one another most of the time, but Lily is pretty sure she dislikes James. You'll see in later chapters how her feelings develop into hatred and eventually love.

3. Lily knows a drying charm because she is bright. It's just like Hermione could do magic before Hogwarts because she read her textbooks. Lily is very studious so she knows more magic than most students.

4. This story will eventually be seven chapters long. There will be one chapter for each year and will alternate points of views. Congrats to The Big Dance who guessed exactly what I was planning to do with this story. I have the first four chapters prewritten. I'll have to write faster to keep up with you people.

Thanks again to my reviewers!

Next Chapter:

It was third year and James was curious.

Cat


	3. Year Three

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. These characters belong to JK Rowling. The plot, however, belongs to me...well, most of it.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year Three**

It was third year and James was curious.

He was perched in a tree by the lake wondering how long it would be before a certain redhead showed up.

He had overheard her tell her friends that she was planning to go study by the lake later. But that had been well over an hour ago and now he was beginning to worry that she had changed her mind.

It was cold and James considered going inside, but before he had the chance to move, he heard footsteps in the snow. Pulling his invisibility cloak tighter around him, he turned to see Lily Evans walking toward him.

"Stupid Potter and his stupid friends," he could hear her muttering.

James smirked. He wasn't quite sure what he had done this time, but he was sure he would find out about it soon enough. For now, he figured it was better to stay hidden.

He watched Lily sit down in the snow with her back up against the tree and open a book. She had stopped muttering by now and seemed completely absorbed in her book. Every now and then, she would shiver and pull her cloak tighter.

James continued to sit in the tree looking down at Lily. It was then that he wondered why he was there. He had simply heard that Lily would be there later and had gone off to see her. He did not know what he wanted to do, but he would have to think of something. After all, he could not just sit there until she was finished studying. It was common knowledge around the Gryffindor tower that Lily Evans could study for hours. Nor could he go back to the castle. He could not get down out of the tree without Lily seeing him. He was trapped.

He stood up on the branch and steadied himself by holding on to the trunk of the tree. This caused snow to fall from the tree and onto the book Lily was reading.

She looked up, but of course did not see anything because James had wisely donned his invisibility cloak. He pressed himself up against the tree to make sure she could not see up the cloak.

Lily shrugged and turned back to her book, lightly brushing the snow off of it.

James let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the task at hand. He had to get out of there without Lily seeing him.

He stepped from the branch he was currently on to one next to it. From there, he hoisted himself up to a higher one. There, he paused, straddling the branch to make sure Lily had not heard him. She had not, so he continued.

James stood up on the branch and stepped onto the next one. His foot slipped out from under him causing a good deal of snow to fall from the tree.

Lily's head snapped up. She slowly got to her feet and pulled her wand out. She began to circle the tree cautiously.

James quickly pressed himself against the tree again.

Again not seeing anything, Lily shrugged and went back to where she had been sitting.

Letting out a breath he had not noticed he had been holding in, James continued around to the back of the tree. Knowing he would not be able to climb down with his invisibility cloak still on, he removed it and stuffed it into his pocket.

Holding on to the branch where he was currently perched, he let himself drop to the ground. He then checked once again to make sure Lily had not heard him. He poked his head around the tree and saw that Lily was still reading peacefully.

James turned back around only to find himself mere inches away from a long white beard. It took all his self-control not to cry out in surprise.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Out for a walk?"

"Erm, yes," James said meekly.

"Ah, Miss Evans," Dumbledore greeted, looking over James's shoulder.

James shut his eyes. He knew that Lily was right behind him and that it was only a matter of time before she put everything together and figured out that he had been watching her from the tree. She did not have top grades for nothing.

Smiling brightly, he turned around to face a very confused Lily Evans.

"Evans," he greeted.

"Potter," she said curtly. "Professor Dumbledore."

"What brings you two young Gryffindors out here on such a cold winter day?" Dumbledore asked.

"I was studying under that tree," Lily explained gesturing to the tree and her book.

"I was out for a walk," James said. "I have to keep in shape for Quidditch."

He smirked at Lily who rolled her eyes. He knew she thought he was arrogant, but he did not exactly help himself by acting like a prat every time she was around. He couldn't help it. That was just how he was.

"Well, I'd hate to see our top student and star Quidditch player fall behind in their respective areas of achievement because I kept them from improving."

There was a twinkle in the headmaster's eye that made James a bit uneasy.

Once Dumbledore was out of sight, James turned back to Lily.

"Well," he said. "I guess I'll be going. I promised Remus I'd meet him in the library."

"Oh no you don't." Lily grabbed his arm to prevent him from going anywhere.

"Why are you really out here?" she asked. "Don't give me any of that 'out for a walk' nonsense," she said as he opened his mouth to repeat the lie he had just given Dumbledore.

"I know perfectly well that you weren't training for Quidditch," she continued. "I would have seen you if you had been."

"Lily, dear," he tried. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Would I lie to you?"

"Yes," she muttered.

"Erm, do you think you could let go of my arm?" James asked timidly. "I can't feel my hand."

"Oh," Lily whispered, releasing his arm. "Sorry."

"That's quite alright," he replied, flashing her an award-winning grin.

She rolled her eyes and returned to her place under the tree. She opened her book and began to read once again.

"What are you studying, Evans?" James asked.

"Transfiguration," she said simply.

"Why?"

"Look, Potter," she snapped. "It's been great chatting with you, but if you don't mind, I'd really like to get back to studying."

"I like Transfiguration," James continued, completely ignoring her outburst.

Lily let out a strangled cry of frustration.

"I believe we've had this conversation once before," James said. "In first year. Back when we were friends."

"We were only friends for thirty minutes," Lily pointed out. "Then you pushed me in the lake."

James chuckled at the memory.

"Oh yeah," he said. "That was funny."

"Almost as funny as what you and your stupid friends did today?" she asked.

"That depends," James said. "What did we do today?"

Her brilliant green eyes flashed again and James unconsciously took a step backwards.

"You put hiccoughing powder in my pumpkin juice at breakfast," she growled. "I couldn't stop hiccoughing for over two hours. Do you know how uncomfortable that is?"

"I can imagine," he said with a grin.

"I can't believe you," she muttered.

"What makes you think I was behind that prank?" he asked.

"Because you're the only one who would do something like that to me."

James did not want to admit that she had a point, but he honestly had not done that, although he had a very good idea of who had.

"I swear it wasn't me," he said.

"Yeah right."

"No, really. I had nothing to do with it. I won't deny that it was my friends, but I can swear on my grandfather's grave that I was not involved in any way, shape, or form."

Lily eyed him suspiciously. James shifted slightly. Why was he so desperate to make her believe him?

"Why should I believe you?" she asked. "You've never given me reason to."

As if on cue, Sirius came running across the grounds.

"James!" he shouted. "You'll never guess what I did to Evans this morning."

He stopped short when he saw who James was talking to.

"Uh oh," he muttered, trying to turn away before Lily had time to punish him.

He was not quite fast enough.

"Sirius Black!" she shouted. "It was you who put the powder in my juice?"

Sirius fumbled for words.

"No," he finally said. "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about, Evans."

"I'm sure you do," she growled dangerously. "You put hiccoughing powder in my juice at breakfast."

"Did it work?"

James flinched as Lily let out a strangled cry and began to chase after his friend, screaming every single curse and hex she had managed to learn.

James felt sorry for Sirius, he really did, but he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of those curses. He knew that it was exactly what his friend needed at the moment. It would definitely teach him a lesson.

"James!" Sirius shouted.

"Potter can't help you now, Black," Lily cried, charming his shoelaces to tie themselves together. Sirius promptly tripped and fell on his face.

"No, Evans," he whimpered. "Please don't hurt me. I'll be good. Honestly, I will. I swear I won't ever direct another prank towards you."

"Too late, Black," she growled. "You should have thought about that in first year. You've pulled one practical joke too many and I think it's time you paid for it."

Sirius looked like he was going to fall down to his knees and beg for mercy. James figured he should intervene before his friend was either was murdered or made a fool out of himself.

"So, Black," Lily was saying. "How many pieces do you want to be in when I send you to the hospital wing?"

"One?" Sirius tried.

"I could," Lily mused. "But what would I do with the other pieces?"

Before James could make a move, someone disarmed Lily. It was not Sirius or James.

Looking around, James saw Remus standing nearby with Lily's wand in his hand.

"I couldn't let you hurt him, Lily," he said with a small smile.

"I'm muggle-born," she muttered. "I don't need magic."

James caught her as she attempted to lunge at Sirius who had curled up in a ball in the snow to protect himself.

"Whoa, Evans!" James laughed. "Calm down. You're very energetic today."

She muttered something incoherent.

"What would killing Sirius solve?" he asked.

"Everything," she murmured, piercing Sirius with her gaze.

"Now, now," Remus tutted. "What have we told you about that temper?"

Lily sighed, calming slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me."

James let go of her.

"Apologize to Sirius," he instructed.

She rolled her eyes and turned to where Sirius was standing, having just untied his shoes and gotten to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Black."

"I'm sorry, too, Evans."

"Now hug," Remus tried.

Lily shot him a disgusted look, but Sirius quickly scooped her up into a hug.

"Put me down!" she screamed.

When Sirius set her back down on her feet, Lily promptly lunged at him once again. This time, however, she was not intercepted and succeeded in knocking him to the ground. Straddling him, she raised afist to hit him in the face.

Fortunately, James was quick. He managed to pull a struggling Lily off of his best friend.

"Let go of me, Potter," she cried, thrashing about in an attempt to escape his hold. "I know what I'm doing."

"Lily!" Remus cried over her shouts and curses.

Breathing hard, she calmed once again only to find herself seated in none other than James Potter's lap.

"Merlin, Evans," he laughed. "You curse like a sailor."

She blushed faintly.

"Will you please let me go?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh no," he replied. "I'm not making that mistake again. You're not going anywhere."

"But I can't move."

"Exactly."

Lily pouted for quite some time.

"So," Remus began. "Am I correct in assuming that she found out about the hiccoughing powder?"

Sirius nodded.

"I told you it was a bad idea," Remus continued matter-of-factly.

"Well if I had know she was going to react like that," Sirius whined. "I would have put it in Snape's drink like usual."

"Is that why she's so mad?"

"Yes," James replied.

"She just _snapped_," Sirius cried. "I've never been so afraid for my life."

The current situation was quite comical. Lily, James, and Sirius were all seated in the snow. Lily was in James's lap pouting and glaring at Sirius. Sirius was sitting a good distance off, staring wide-eyed at Lily as if afraid she might attack him again at any moment. James was struggling to keep a straight face while holding on tightly to Lily. Remus was standing above the other three, watching in case something else happens.

"Sirius," Remus said, breaking the silence. "I think we should go back to the castle so James can let Lily go."

Sirius nodded and scrambled to his feet, not taking his eyes off of Lily. The two of them said goodbye and left.

James did not let go of Lily's waist until he was sure his friends were safe inside the castle. When he did, she quickly hopped off of him.

"What's with you, Evans?" he asked. "We've pranked you Merlin knows how many times and you choose now to go psycho on us? You could have killed Sirius."

"That was my intention," she muttered.

He laughed.

"I'll never understand you," he said. "But I'd like to. I think I'll study you for a while and write a book called _The Inner Workings of Lily Evans._ It will be a best seller."

Lily snorted.

"Yeah right," she said. "Like I'd let you anywhere near me long enough for you to get to know me that well. And besides, you couldn't write a book. You refuse to do your Potions essays."

"You're right," he sighed. "I couldn't do it, but it was a good idea. Maybe I'll just research for my own pleasure."

"Maybe not."

"So, Evans," he said, pretending to be interviewing her. "Why do you get angry so easily? Sirius was only having some fun, and no one got hurt."

"He just pulled one too many pranks," she said simply.

"I see," he continued. "And when did you start to express your anger in such a violent way?"

"I used to beat my sister up all the time," she told him. "We never got along."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes," Lily sighed. "Unfortunately. She's a Muggle and she hates me for being a witch."

"That doesn't seem fair." James frowned. "How can she hate you just for being who you are?"

"I think its jealousy," she said. "Either that or she actually hates my guts. How would you feel if you had a sister who you thought was just like you, but one day you found out that she belongs in a world you didn't even know existed. Wouldn't you be a little confused and jealous?"

"I suppose," James muttered. "But it doesn't give her an excuse to be mean to you."

"And what gives you an excuse to do just that?"

James paused.

"Well," he began. "Your sister is mean just to make you feel bad about yourself. I'm not actually mean. I just tend to pull pranks at your expense. They aren't mean. You just don't think they're as funny as everyone else does."

Lily snorted.

"They're definitely mean," she said. "I don't think they're funny at all."

"So what if I swore to you that I would never pull another prank on you again?" James rushed.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"You wouldn't do that," she said slowly. "It's against your religion."

He grinned.

"It's not." He extended his hand to her. "I swear I'll leave you alone if you promise to try to get away from your books."

Lily eyed his hand warily.

"You're not lying?" she asked. "You'll keep your promise."

"I swear. Deal?"

"Deal."

They shook hands and finalized the deal.

"Now about your part of the bargain," James began. "You have to do something unexpected. Join the Quidditch team or kiss a Slytherin. No, never mind. That last one is too disgusting. Even you don't deserve that kind of torture."

He paused to think.

"Um, get drunk or talk back to a teacher. Dance in the middle of the Great Hall. _Don't do your homework for once_."

Lily scoffed.

"I don't want to do any of those things," she said.

"You have to do _something_," James reminded her. "Because otherwise, our deal is null and void."

"Oh, all right," she sighed. "I'll fall asleep in History of Magic or something."

"Uh oh," James laughed sarcastically. "That's dangerous, Evans. You sure you want to risk it?"

"Shove it." She hit him on the arm.

Suddenly, Lily became very cold. She was so cold she began to shiver. Looking down, she noticed that her sweater was beginning to unravel seemingly all by itself.

"Potter!" she yelped, trying to stop the unraveling. "What are you doing? You swore you would stop these stupid pranks!"

"It's not me," he cried, raising his hands in innocence. "When I make a promise, I keep it. However, I cannot be responsible for the actions of Sirius Black."

Lily growled and glared up at Sirius, who was sitting in a window, aiming his wand at her and waving cheekily.

Sensing danger, James quickly got up and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower before it was too late.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to all of my reviewers! I don't have time to write a very long author's note today. I am soo glad people actually like this story! I promise I'll have chapter 4 up sometime next week.

Thanks again! You people make me smile!

Love,

Cat


	4. Year Four

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. These characters belong to JK Rowling. The plot, however, belongs to me...well, most of it.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year Four**

It was fourth year and Lily was confused.

She sat alone by the lake staring into the forest and thinking. There were so many things to think about. She wanted to just get school over with so she would not have to worry so much anymore.

There were OWLS next year. Lily was not looking forward to those very much. Of course, she had already started preparing. It was almost summer, after all. She should have started preparing ages ago, but simply had not had the time. If she did not score well on those exams, she could blow her chances of becoming Head Girl and getting a decent job after she graduated.

And what if she did not get prefect in her fifth year? That would simply be disastrous. She had worked her whole life (or at least since first year) dedicating herself to her studies to ensure that she would become a prefect. But, of course, there were others who were equally good students. Lily could not think of any off the top of her head, but she was sure they existed. They were probably in the library studying all of the time, and that's why she did not know who they were.

And what would her parents say if she did not do the very best in everything? They would probably be very upset with her and disown her as a daughter. In reality, they probably would not care, as long as Lily did her best, but Lily was too consumed in her thoughts to think clearly.

Then, there was her sister. Petunia had been dating a particularly horrible man by the name of Vernon Dursley. Lily could not stand him. He was mean and rude and everything that Petunia was but on a much higher scale. Petunia had once been tolerable, but Vernon had influenced her far too much, causing her to be completely unbearable. If he knew Lily was a witch, he would probably want her burned at the stake.

Recently, Petunia and Vernon had been a lot closer. This caused Lily to think that perhaps they would be getting married soon.

She shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted was to be related to a man who resembled a large purple pig, not even by marriage. The only good thing about the thought of the couple getting married was that it would give them an excuse to move across the country and get as far away from Lily and her "freakish ways" as possible (which they would unquestionably do without hesitation).

Lily looked into the woods across the lake and wondered if she could run away. If she did, how long would it be before anybody even noticed she was missing? She could run into the woods and hide there until night when she would sneak into Hogsmeade and ride home on the Knight Bus. But, that would put her right back with Petunia, which is _not_ where, she wanted to be. Never mind.

But that _still _was not everything on Lily's mind as she gazed at the rippling water of the lake. There were a certain four boys on her mind. How could they not be? Hardly a day passed when one of the four did not bother her just to get a reaction.

Sirius Black amused her. He was funny and entertaining almost constantly, but there were times when Lily felt he was a bit over the top. Sirius did not mean to be annoying, but it was sometimes unavoidable. He simply did not know when something was funny and when it was not. Lily almost felt sorry for Sirius. Of course, she felt sorry for anyone who considered James Potter his best friend, but she also felt sorry for Sirius because of his childish ways. His idea of a good time was pranking the Slytherins, sneaking into the school kitchens, and playing Quidditch. She would probably never understand him, but sometimes she wished she could.

Then there was Peter Pettigrew. Lily did not like him very much, but not for the same reasons she disliked James. Peter was odd. He was unusually stupid. It was amazing how he interpreted his lessons. If it said to add a newt's tail to the potion, chances are he would add a Mandrake root. Lily honestly thought that if he did not have the friends he did, he would still be in the second year. His friends were bright, she had to give them that, but he was not, and she, along with every teacher and student at Hogwarts, knew that Peter would not be able to keep up in school without them. Another thing she disliked about the unusual boy was the way he acted. His personality was like that of a small child. He was not very mature for his age, and she would not have doubted it if someone were to tell her that he cried at the start of every term when he was forced to leave his mother at home and return to school. All in all, Peter Pettigrew was a wimp.

Lily's personal favorite of the group of friends was Remus Lupin. He was not like the other three. He was kind and considerate of other people's feelings. Although he seemed to have trouble standing up to his friends, he knew right from wrong. Lily wondered why he never tried to stop them. Unlike his friends, Remus tried to do well in school. Sirius and James managed to breeze through on nothing but pure luck and natural talent. It made Lily sick. But Remus seemed like an actual human being. He studied and did his homework ahead of time, while his two aforementioned friends scribbled something on a spare piece of parchment two seconds before the bell and managed to get full points for it. Again unlike his friends, Remus treated Lily with respect. He did not call out, "Hey, Evans! I think your head's on fire!" in the middle of Potions. Remus was much more likeable than, say, James Potter.

Here was the one person Lily could stand the least. He was the only one in the entire school that she simply could not stand. He was exactly the opposite of Remus Lupin and five times worse than Sirius Black. James Potter had an enormously large head, especially since he made the Quidditch team in third year. Unfortunately for Lily and the other sane students at Hogwarts, his head had only increased in size since then. Girls practically threw themselves at his feet. James seemed to think this was permission to act even more like a prat. In third year, he had stopped directing his pranks towards Lily. She had thought it would make him more tolerable, but she was wrong. He had begun acting like he owned the school, taking it upon himself to punish the Slytherins whenever he felt they deserved it (which was every time they came into his line of vision). It was cruel and unfair, as Lily made sure to tell him every day. Her complaints and insults did not affect him though. Apparently, there must have been a filter in his abnormally large head that caused her words to change before he interpreted them. He seemed to think it was her way of flirting with him. James Potter infuriated her to no end. There were times when Lily thought that Azkaban could not be half as bad as Hogwarts with James.

A rustle of leaves in the Forbidden Forest brought her back to her senses. Looking up just in time, she saw the four boys who plagued her thoughts coming out of the forest. They were laughing at something and not paying her a bit of attention. They had probably just pulled some enormously immature practical joke and were now laughing at somebody else's expense. That was just like them to-

Wait a minute.

Lily did a double take. They had just exited the Forbidden Forest. Any one who could understand English would know that this particular forest was _forbidden_. Sure, these boys were known to do some pretty mean and stupid things, but Lily didn't think they were stupid enough to do something that dangerous. You were practically committing suicide just by stepping into the forest. Merlin knows how many times they had taken that risk.

She was fuming by this point and had half a mind to tell them exactly what she thought about their latest little prank. As quickly as this idea came, it passed. No, that would involve having to come face-to-face with Potter. Lily did not want to spend any more time around him than absolutely necessary.

Keeping her comments to herself, Lily frantically searched for a place to hide. If James saw her he would definitely come to talk to her. Unfortunately, she was sitting by the lake with nothing to hide behind except the thin tree, which would not do the trick. She was considering diving into the lake and hiding there until the four Gryffindors passed when James saw her sitting by herself and took it upon himself to keep her company.

She watched him say something to his friends. They all looked over to the lake and waved. Lily raised her hand half-heartedly in response. Then, James separated from the rest of the group and jogged over to her.

Lily cursed under her breath as he sat down beside her.

"Hola, Evans!" he greeted.

Lily hated his smile. Most girls swooned when he flashed his infamous lopsided grin, but not Lily. She was different. She seemed to be the only girl in Hogwarts smart enough to see through Potter. He just wanted the attention.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You speak Spanish now, Potter?"

"Of course not," he said, laughing.

"No, that would require effort," she muttered. "Not even you can learn a language instantly."

James laughed. "That was funny. I like your sense of humor, Evans."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. I just thought I'd come practice my Spanish on you," he replied innocently. "My family is going to Spain this summer."

"Here to brag now, Potter?" Lily spat.

She hated people who bragged. Everyone knew Lily did not come from a wealthy family. It did not bother her, but when people rubbed it in her face that they could afford things she could not (like vacations in Spain), she got angry and defensive.

James looked utterly shocked.

"N-no!" he spluttered. "Of course not. Lily, I didn't mean it like that. Honestly I-"

But Lily was on her feet by now. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Of course you meant it," she hissed. "Everyone means it. Isn't it fun to pick on poor Lily? You couldn't live without your abnormally large sums of money and you can't understand how other people do. We manage, Potter. I don't live in an alley or eat out of garbage cans. In fact, I've even been to France."

She conveniently left out the fact that the reason she had gone to France was for he grandmother's funeral. She would let James believe her family could afford vacations too.

"Lily, you don't understand," James said quickly, but he was beginning to lose his temper also. "I never meant to rub it in your face."

"But you did and you don't feel sorry at all, do you?"

"Of course I do!" he cried.

Lily could feel her cheeks getting red with anger. "That's okay, Potter. I forgive you. Why, if I were rich and spoiled I'd go around making fun of less fortunate people, too. It's what all rich people do, right?"

"Shut up!" he exclaimed suddenly. "What's wrong with you? I never said anything to insult you. You're just…insane. I don't understand you. I come to practice Spanish and you bite my head off."

Lily bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay," James said, sighing and sitting back down as Lily did the same. "Would it make you feel better if I said you could come with us?"

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously and he immediately regretted asking the question.

"I'm joking of course," he said quickly. "You don't need to come."

Lily began to swirl her finger around in the water, watching the ripples move across the surface of the lake.

She sighed. If only James Potter would act like a human being for once in his life. He might actually be tolerable if he could just learn to control what comes out of his mouth. No, that would never happen because then he would not be James Potter.

Out of the corner of her eye Lily could him watching her. He was probably trying to think of something else he could say to make her mad.

"Hey Evans."

_Here it comes_, Lily thought.

"Did you know that your left eye twitches when you're really angry?"

She sighed but found herself laughing.

James looked confused.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"Because you're ridiculous," she said in between bouts of laughter. "You're the only person I know who can make me scream and yell until I'm red in the face and then turn around and make me laugh by telling me my eye twitches."

James smiled uncertainly.

"Is that a good thing?"

Lily waited until she was finished laughing to answer. She fell back and looked up at the sky.

"I don't know," she said slowly. "One would assume it was not because of how dangerously close I am to killing you every time you make me mad, but then, I suppose it's good that you can usually calm me down. That way I don't actually murder you."

He nodded, still not quite understanding.

"Some day you'll say something really terrible," Lily continued. "Then you'll regret ever having bothered me. I _am _top of our year in Charms. That could come in handy. Does that cloud look like the gallows to you?"

"No," he said quickly, not even looking up at the sky.

"Hm." Lily watched the cloud float by.

Suddenly, an owl flew over, dropping a letter on her face.

"Ouch!"

Lily pushed herself up to a sitting position and picked up the letter.

"Who's it from?" James asked.

"I don't know," she said through gritted teeth. "Let me open it and find out first."

She opened the letter slowly, trying to keep it from James's prying eyes. She angled it away from him and read it.

_Dear Lily,_

_I have watched you from afar for several years and have come to find that you fascinate me. After much too long, I have finally gathered up the courage to ask you to be my girlfriend. I am afraid I cannot say much in a letter for fear of it being intercepted by certain mischievous students. _(Lily glanced at James who was waiting patiently for her to finish.) _Please meet me by the lake in ten minutes._

_Love,_

_Your Secret Admirer_

Lily read the letter again quickly. It was incredibly corny and unfortunately did not have the effect on her that it was obviously meant to have had.

She would meet this mysterious stranger in ten minutes, but first she had to get rid of James.

She sighed and prepared to be asked a series of questions. Fortunately, James's attention was being held by something other than Lily. He was staring at the sky. Lily followed his gaze to see another owl flying over them. It dropped a single lily in her lap.

Lily supposed this was some poor confused soul's way of being romantic. Since her name was Lily, obviously she should be given lilies. Unfortunately, she did not care for lilies. She preferred tulips.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she missed the look of jealousy on James's face. He eyed the letter and flower suspiciously. Unfortunately for Lily, he was smart. He had everything figured out in a matter of seconds.

"So who's the lucky guy?" he asked.

"I don't know," she whispered, not completely there.

James felt the need to bring her back to reality. So, he took it upon himself to do so.

He cleared his throat. "Evans, will you out with me?"

Lily blinked and spun around to face him, confusion written on her face. He could not be serious. She searched his eyes frantically for the familiar glint of mischief, but his eyes were cold and emotionless.

Of course he was not serious. James Potter had never been serious before in his life. Lily shook her head and forced herself to laugh out loud, as if she wanted him to know that she knew he was not serious.

"How about on Saturday?" he asked.

"No."

"Sunday?"

Lily frowned. "Why are you being so stupid, Potter? Why would I go out with you? We don't even get along."

James forced a slight laugh. "I was only joking. I'll leave you alone now so you can go on your little date."

She watched in amazement as he got up and walked away with a smile and a wave. That had been easier than she had expected.

Collapsing back into the grass again, she stared at the sky. Who could this secret admirer be? If it was another of the Marauders' practical jokes…

"Lily?"

Lily sat up.

"Hi," she said. She did not recognize this boy. In fact, she was pretty sure she had never seen him before in her life.

He shifted uneasily. "I guess you know why I'm here."

"Yes," she replied. "Do I know you?"

The conversation was getting tenser by the minute.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Jeremy Taylor. I'm in sixth year in Hufflepuff."

Lily stared. "Sixth year?" She repeated. "Why are you even bothering with me then?"

He chuckled. "Like I said in my letter, you fascinate me."

She nodded, but said nothing.

There was an awkward silence during which Lily stared out at the lake. Finally, Jeremy cleared his throat.

"So will you?" he asked. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Lily hesitated. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I hardly know you. You're two years older than me. I have so much I need to do. I don't know if I could handle a boyfriend right now."

"Lily," he began. "I've fancied you for so long I can't even remember when it all started. I think it was that time I saw you hex Potter in the middle of the Great Hall. I marveled at how you didn't even flinch when McGonagall gave you both detentions. Please, say 'yes' and I'll be the happiest man alive."

She stared. That had happened at the end of her third year. It had been over a year ago. He had liked her for that long and he was just now getting the courage to ask her out?

She pitied him and that was what led her to say yes.

Smiling broadly, he kissed the back of her hand and said something about seeing her at dinner. She didn't hear him.

Flopping back into the grass once again, Lily began to regret her decision. She knew close to nothing about Jeremy. She was so busy with schoolwork that she probably would never see him since they were not in the same house. Why, she was better off dating James Potter.

Of course, she would rather be thrown into a pit of man-eating flobberworms than be James Potter's girlfriend.

"Oh, I was hoping you'd still be here."

Lily turned her head in the direction of the voice and groaned.

James sat down next to her like he had before and started up a conversation as if she had wanted him to be there.

"I didn't know you associated with Hufflepuffs," he said.

"This one is different," she said simply.

"New boyfriend?"

Lily eyed him closely and nodded.

"That's fine," he said. "I have no problem with being rejected. I just want you to know that I don't give up very easily. So why him and not me?"

She sighed. "I pitied him. Here, read his letter." She tossed the letter into his lap. "He seemed so desperate and I was afraid I'd hurt his feelings if I said no."

"Not afraid to hurt my feelings, are you Evans?" he asked absently while reading the letter.

"You weren't serious though," Lily replied. "You're never serious."

"Uh huh." James finished the letter and tossed it back at her. "Wow, he does seem like a desperate guy. You're relationship sounds promising. I'm willing to bet it doesn't last more than a month."

"Don't bet on my relationship!" she snapped.

"Why not? Because you know it's true?" His eyes danced with mischief.

"No, I-yes." She sighed. "You're right."

"Care to repeat that, Evans?"

She sighed. "I said 'You're right', Potter."

James chuckled. "That sounded nice. You should say it more often."

"Don't push your luck, Potter," she warned. "I should- wait a minute. Were you spying on us?"

James shifted slightly. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you knew so much about what was going on," she said, starting to get angry again. "Were you? And don't say no because I know you were."

"Maybe."

"James Potter, you are the most insufferable prat I've ever met!" she cried.

Lily sprang to her feet and pulled out her wand. James was immediately up too. He was used to this by now.

"I'll give you three to run, Potter.

Three.

Two.

One."

But he was already gone with Lily not far behind.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm glad everyone liked chapter 3. It is my favorite chapter of the whole story. Chapter four, however, is not. This one is probably my least favorite chapter out of the seven. I like it up until the characters start speaking. Then, it becomes rubbish (at least to me. Feel free to contradict me by saying you loved it.)

I normally try to avoid other characters at all cost, but Jeremy was unavoidable. He had to be there to spur some kind of jealousy in James. Don't worry, their relationship doesn't last long and he doesn't appear again.

Yes, there was definitely some flirting in chapter three. Watch as it picks up in this chapter and the next.

**IMPORTANT! **I hadn't expected to post this chapter so soon after chapter three, but I decided to because I had an important question to ask. I want to get as much of this story up before the sixth book comes out just so that it doesn't mess with my plot too much (not that there is much plot here to mess with). So, I need your help. I am leaving the country next week and I'm not coming back until the day after the Half-Blood Prince is released. Should I try topostthe rest of this story before I leave or should I post chapter five and then wait until I get back to post the other two chapters (when this story may be AU). If you decide that I should post it all before I go, I can post one chapter every other day (chapter five on Wednesday, chapter six on Friday, and chapter seven on Sunday). That way when I get back I won't have to worry about changing it to fit in with the series and I can just continue to write other stuff. Please help me. It doesn't matter to me what you choose. Don't be indecisive. Tell me what to do. Thanks for your help!

No matter what my reviewers decide, I will definitely post at least one more chapter before I leave. Fifth year will not be the scene from the book. Don't worry!

Thanks to **Liz **who caught a mistake in this chapter. It bothered me after she pointed it out so I fixed it. Thanks!

Thanks for reading!


	5. Year Five

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** In case you feel the urge to read this, I don't own anything here.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year Five**

It was fifth year and James was hormone-driven.

He sat in the Gryffindor common room trying to finish up an essay. He still could not understand why teachers even gave essays when they knew people like him either would not do them or would only do them halfway and put as little effort as possible into them.

Scratching his head, he looked out the window. There was someone swimming in the lake. Nobody was stupid enough to swim inmid November. Then he caught sight of the person's red hair and immediately understood.

He had heard earlier from one of Lily's friends that Lily had gotten drunk. She had told him that they had snuck off to Hogsmeade and that Lily had had too much firewhiskey.

James was having difficulty picturing Lily Evans, Gryffindor Prefect, drunk, but figured if he wanted to see her like that, he might as well go now before he missed his opportunity.

It took no great internal struggle to get himself to leave his essay and head down to the lake. He was there so fast you would have thought his essay had bitten him or something.

Sure enough, Lily was in the lake up to her waist. She certainly did not look very drunk.

Slightly disappointed, James cleared his throat. Lily spun around to see him.

"Oh, it's you," she muttered. "What do you want now?"

He shrugged. "I heard you were drunk and was wondering what kind of friends let their drunk friend play in the lake on a cold November afternoon."

"Drunk ones."

James nodded in understanding.

"You don't look that drunk to me," he said.

"Sobriety Charm."

He knew that Sobriety Charms did not usually work all the way when the performer of the charm was drunk. He assumed Lily had performed the charm herself.

"Come on in," she called. "The water's fine."

He chuckled. "No thanks. I'm perfectly happy on dry land."

Lily reached out and grabbed his hand. Pulling roughly, she managed to get him ankle-deep in the water. His shoes would be soaked, but he could dry them later. Right now, all he could think of was Lily's small hand in his. It was a shame she was still a little tipsy.

Before he had time to comprehend anything, she had taken her hand out of his and placed each of hers on either side of his face. She gently stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. James did not have the power to ask her to stop. He wanted her to continue.

Then, without warning, Lily pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. He could taste the firewhiskey still on her and was reminded that what he was doing was wrong, but, being a fifteen-year-old boy who just happened to think he was kissing the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts, he still did not try to stop her.

Instead, he gave in to the kiss and decided to face the consequences later.

Unfortunately, James Potter had a conscience and when Lily tried to deepen the kiss he pulled away.

She pouted for a moment before turning away from him.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"You're drunk."

"No I'm not."

"Lily," James pleaded. "Don't be mad. If you were sober you never would have kissed me. You hate me!"

Lily remained silent.

James muttered a Sobriety Charm under his breath. Part of him hoped that it would work this time, but part of him didn't.

A moment after the charm hit her, Lily spun back around to face James. She narrowed her eyes at him and promptly slapped him across the face.

James winced, his hand flying to his cheek.

"Bloody hell, Evans," he exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"For taking advantage of me while I was drunk," she replied matter-of-factly.

He sighed. He had known there would be consequences eventually, but he hadn't known they would be so painful.

Lily gave a sigh of frustration and began to climb out of the lake, but James grabbed her wrist before she could make it to the bank.

"Why do you hate me?"

Lily looked into his eyes and for a split second forgot everything she was about to say. They were so sad and desperate. It was as if James was begging her not to hate him anymore, to say just one nice thing about him.

Then everything he had done to her in the past five years came flooding back to her. She had a list of reasons why she hated him. There was no end to the reasons.

"Do you _really _want to know why I hate you, Potter?" she asked hotly. "You're rude. You're conceited. You're terribly mean to innocent people. You don't care about other people's feelings. You're incredibly annoying. You don't do your schoolwork yet you seem to have perfect grades. I don't think I need to continue because I think I've made my point. Now if you'll excuse me, Potter, I have an essay that needs to be done."

Lily turned to go, but James held her back again.

"Actually," he said. "There was something I wanted to ask you."

She rolled her eyes but did not say anything.

"You know that roommate of yours?" James continued. "The one with the long blond hair?"

"Yes."

"Do you happen to know what she thinks of me?"

"I never talk to her," Lily replied. "She thinks she's better than everyone else in our dorm. She sounds like the perfect person for you."

"Yeah, but surely she's mentioned me?" he repeated. "Maybe in her sleep?"

Lily began to feel herself losing her temper again.

"You don't even know her name, do you?" she asked in a voice as calm and steady as she could muster.

"Well, I can't say I've ever asked," James floundered, seeing Lily's face and angry eyes. "But isn't it Debbie or something?"

Lily snorted.

"I can't believe you!" she cried. "You're only interested in looks. Personality means nothing to you, does it?"

She did not give him a chance to reply.

"And where did you come up with Debbie?" she continued hotly. "That isn't even close. Her name's Rebecca. Shows how much attention you pay."

"Everyone's name is Debbie," he muttered.

Lily threw up her hands in exasperation.

"I've had enough of you for today, Potter," she said. "I'm going to my dorm where you can't follow me."

James caught her wrist once again as she began to walk away.

"Wait, Evans," he said. "Will you talk to her for me?"

"No, Potter," she said gently. "I don't want to get involved in the insanity of your life. Get one of your friends to do it for you."

James held her gaze for a moment.

"No," he said softly. "I don't want them to do this. I want you to. I trust you, Lily."

She blinked, almost not recognizing the sound of her first name coming out of his mouth. It was almost like a foreign language. They had an unspoken agreement not to use each other's first names. She did not know why it was that way. Perhaps it was because of their unfriendliness towards one another.

Without thinking or realizing what she was doing, Lily nodded.

James smiled. That had been easier than he had expected it to be. So that was it? He just had to be nice to her and she would do what he wanted? He had never thought of that. If his mind didn't become mush when she was around, he would have tried it sooner and more often but that was practically impossible.

"And if she says no, will you go out with me?" he tried, unable to break the habit of asking every time he saw her.

"No, Potter," she said for what must have been the twelfth time that week.

"Whatever you say, Evans," he continued cockily. "We'll end up together someday. Besides, why would she say no? I'm me after all. I could get any girl in this school."

Lily rolled her eyes and snorted.

"You're such a big-headed prat," she said. "Honestly, I don't know how you fit through the doors to the Great Hall every day with that ego of yours."

"Just ask her and see what she says," James boasted. "She'll agree. Tell her she can meet me in the common room on Saturday morning."

"Tell her yourself. I won't do it."

Lily broke free of James's grasp and started running towards the castle.

"You have to!" James called after her. "You promised."

Lily stopped where she was and turned back to him.

"Fine," she snapped. "But don't ever say I owe you any favors. I don't like doing your dirty work."

"Thanks, Evans," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You're a life saver."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"I know," she muttered, and ran all the way back to the castle.

James sat by the lake for a little while longer. It was getting dark, but he didn't care.

He watched the giant squid swim around in the lake and threw stones at it. The squid actually caught two or three of them.

James simply did not understand Lily Evans. She was practically the only girl in the entire school (except for a few Slytherins) who did not faint when he spoke to her or fall down at his feet when he asked her out.

And yet, she was the one girl who drove him crazy.

At first, he had only asked her out to see what her reaction would be. She had been surprised to say the least, but she did not accept. That's what really got to him. He didn't think there was a girl in all of Hogwarts who could resist him, but Lily proved him wrong. What's more, she had proved him wrong close to eighty times over since the first time he had asked her.

In all honesty, James had not even known that he had had the perseverance to chase after one person for as long as he had been chasing after Lily, even though it had only been six months. Normally, he would have given up after the first five tries, but there was something about Lily that made him keep asking. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but something about her made him want to pursue her until she agreed to go out with him.

He would not quit until he succeeded.

James was reaching for another rock to throw at the squid when he grabbed something that was definitely not a rock. It was a stick.

He shrugged and was about to throw it in anyway when he realized it was not a stick at all, but a wand. It must have been Lily's.

Tucking it away in his pocket, he made a mental note to remember to give it back to her. With that, he turned back to his game with the quid.

Not much later, footsteps made James turn around to see Lily running towards him.

"Changed your mind, Evans?" he asked, smirking.

"Don't bet on it, Potter," she replied. "Have you seen my wand?"

James opened his mouth to say that he had it when he changed his mind.

"No, I haven't," he said. "But I'm willing to help you look for it. Perhaps it's in that rather large pile of sticks over there?"

"Perhaps," Lily said. "But how on earth would it have gotten over there?"

James shrugged. "You were drunk. Who knows what you did before I showed up."

"If I had my wand right now, I'd hex you into seventh year," she growled, starting towards the pile.

James smiled to himself and made sure her wand was still safe in his pocket before following her.

It was a very big pile of sticks. Hagrid must have needed them for something. The two Gryffindors began to shift through the pile, though James didn't know why he was bothering since he knew where the wand was.

Smirking, James found a stick that could have passed for a wand and tossed it to Lily saying, "Here, this might be it. Try this one."

She took the wand and waved it, but nothing happened so she threw it back in the reject pile and kept searching.

A few minutes later, James repeated the same trick. Once again, Lily took the stick and waved it, but to no avail.

After the third time, Lily began to grow suspicious, especially when James had to cover up his laugh with a cough when she tried to perform a simple spell with a regular stick.

Narrowing her eyes at him she said, "This is all some kind of twisted pleasure for you, isn't it? Are you amused by things like this often? If I took this stick and used it to poke your eye out, would you continue to laugh at me?"

"Temper, Evans," James said. "Watch your temper."

"That's easier said than done, Potter," she replied through gritted teeth. "Do you know how hard it is for me to control my temper with you here to make me angry? It's almost impossible!"

James was so afraid that he actually took a step back, completely forgetting that he had her wand and without it, she could do him very little damage. Remembering this, he smirked.

"You know you only get mad this easily because you don't want me to know about your true feelings for me," he said.

"True feelings?" Lily repeated. "True feelings? I'll show you my true feelings!"

With one swift kick to his shin, she succeeded in bringing him to the ground. With a second kick to the stomach, she had him curled up in a ball at her feet, begging her to stop.

"Is that enough for today, Potter?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes," James choked out. "Plenty."

"So you've learned your lesson?"

"I think so."

"And that was…?"

"Never hint that you know a girl's true feelings."

Lily promptly kicked him in the side.

"Ouch!"

"Wimp," she muttered to herself, abandoning the search for her wand. She figured she could have one of her roommates summon it for her.

"Wait!" James cried, scrambling to his feet.

"What now, Potter?" Lily snapped. "And make it quick or I'll miss curfew."

"Here."

He picked up what appeared to be yet another stick and tossed it to her.

"I'm not falling for another one of your stupid jokes," she hissed.

"Wait!" he cried, stopping her just before she snapped the wand in half. "W-what if that's your actual wand?"

Lily frowned and studied it as best she could in the dark.

"_Lumos_," she muttered.

She frowned even harder when a light actually shone from the twig in her hand.

"What have you been up to, Potter?" she asked.

"Nothing," James replied a little too quickly.

"Hm." She examined her wand closely. "What will happen to me if I try to use it?"

"Nothing, I swear!" James said.

"I don't know why, but I believe you."

James couldn't believe his ears. Lily Evans believed him. That had to be the first time ever.

"Thanks for your help, Potter," she said. "I owe you."

"Go out with me?"

"No," she snapped. "But I'll ask Rebecca for you."

He smiled. "Thanks."

Lily walked back to the castle and James followed seconds later, rubbing his side where she had bruised him. He would be adding a few more to his list of Evans-inflicted wounds.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm guessing everyone can figure out what I decided to do about posting the story. The majority of my reviewers said that they would rather read the whole story before the release of HBP. I have to admit that I agree. I don't want to be halfway through this story and then find out that something doesn't fit with the canon and then have to rewrite the whole thing. No, it's easier this way. After I finish this story I can just stick a "Pre HBP" label on it and not have to worry about changing anything. Thanks for your help!

Thanks to **Betsy **who found a mistake in chapter 4. I'm not going to fix it because it was sosmall, but it should definitely read "Evans, will you go out with me" not "Evans, will you out with me". Thanks for catching that! I proofread my stories myself andit is sometimes hard to catch your own mistakes. I debating onwhether or not to find a beta.

So, there are only two chapters left. Chapter 6 will be up on Friday.

I think I'm going to have to make a button to put on my schoolbag that says "I love my reviewers!" Thanks for reviewing. You guys are the reason I keep writing. Thanks!


	6. Year Six

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. These characters belong to JK Rowling. The plot, however, belongs to me...well, most of it.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year Six**

It was sixth year and Lily was afraid.

She did not feel the cold wind whipping around her or the cold wet snow that was soaking through her robes. She did not feel anything.

Lily pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned back against the tree, willing herself not to cry. There was no reason to cry. Nothing had happened- yet.

She inhaled shakily and blinked furiously to clear her eyes.

It was Christmasday and Lily was stuck at Hogwarts over the holidays for the first time in her life. The lake was frozen. She wondered vaguely where the squid went when it was so cold. He probably hibernated deep in the lake or something.

The reason Lily could not go home for Christmas was because Dumbledore had thought it would be safer if she stayed at school. That did not exactly help in comforting Lily. She brushed it aside by thinking that she was probably better off not at home anyway. It would be chaos in the Evans house. Her sister, Petunia, was busy planning her wedding. Yes, she actually intended to marry her brainless oaf of a boyfriend.

Their wedding was to be held in early January. If Lily knew her sister like she thought she did, there would still be a long list of things to prepare. Why, Lily would be surprised if Petunia had her dress already.

But Lily was not upset because she had to stay at school for Christmas. She was upset because she was afraid for her family.

The Daily Prophet had articles on the front-page every so often about attacks on innocent Muggles. These articles were becoming more and more frequent as the attacker, Lord Voldemort, gained power. In fact, even Witches and Wizards were beginning to be included in the death rates more, mostly Muggle-borns.

Of course, Lily would have reason to worry, being Muggle-born, but she was brave. She was not afraid for her life but more for her family's. They were out there in the Muggle world, completely un-expecting and defenseless. Lily would blame herself if anything happened to them.

She felt like it was her duty to warn them, but Dumbledore had warned her against it. He had called Lily to his office several days before the holidays started. He had told her that he thought it best that she stay at Hogwarts for the holidays because he had an idea of exactly what this Voldemort was up to. Dumbledore said that Voldemort wanted to gather followers and that she was exactly the kind of person he would go after. Lily was a smart, young, talented witch who could use her brain to get out of tough situations.

When Lily had expressed that she would never join Voldemort, Dumbledore had said that Voldemort was not beyond killing anyone who denied him or threatening the lives of loved ones to get his way. This is what had convinced Lily to stay.

She could not put the lives of her family members on the line just because she did not want to be alone on Christmas. She may have been as stubborn as a mule, but she was not selfish.

Dumbledore had also told her not to mention any of what was going on in the Wizarding world as far as death and destruction went to her parents. He said it would cause panic among the Muggles. No, it was better that they did not know anything about it because if something did happen to them, there was nothing they could do anyway.

The crunching of snow caused her to turn around.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore had told James Potter to stay at Hogwarts as well. That was just Lily's luck. At least at home she would be away from him, even if she was hiding from a heartless murdering psychopath.

At that very moment, as James Potter was approaching her, Lily wished desperately to be invisible. In fact, she had never wanted anything more.

He had stopped her three times that morning and pointed out that she was standing under mistletoe. Lily hated James, but she also hated breaking tradition. So, deciding that tradition was more important and that she could tolerate James for the quick second it took to kiss him. Unfortunately for him, she had grown suspicious after the third mistletoe incident and had taken refuge outside by the lake where there was definitely no mistletoe hanging over her head.

She wanted to fall into the snow and let it cover her up completely. It would be a thousand times better than facing Potter after that morning.

Unfortunately, wishes don't always come true, not even in the Wizarding world.

"Happy Christmas, Evans!" James greeted.

"Happy Christmas, Potter," Lily muttered. "Again," she added as an afterthought.

"Have you had a good holiday so far?" he asked cheerfully.

Lily nodded and James frowned.

"No, you're not," he said, a lot less cheerful than he had been only seconds before. "Something's bothering you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lily snapped. "Why do you care anyway?"

James sighed. "Contrary to what you may believe, I actually do care about you, and if you're unhappy, I'm unhappy as well."

"You're such a liar."

"I am not," he said defensively. "Now, come on. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Lily said, trying her hardest not to start crying. "I don't know why you think there's anything wrong."

James gave her a knowing look and she had to look away.

He turned her face back to look at him. A lone tear fell down her cheek. Much to Lily's surprise, James brushed the tear away with his thumb. She had never imagined that he could be so kind and sensitive. Only two days before he had laughed as he hexed various Slytherins to sing Christmas carols every time he pointed to them. It was a very crude take on the way the teachers fixed the suits of armors in the very same way every Christmas.

But now he was not hexing Slytherins or setting people's owls on fire or even asking her out on a date. Now, he was comforting her in her time of need and it frightened her to find that she wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and cry into his shoulder while he held her.

Of course, that would never happen. He was still James Potter and that would never change.

"Lily?" he said quietly, tearing her from her thoughts and back to the real world. "What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing or I'll be forced to go steal Truth Serum from the Potions room."

Lily stared for a moment. No, he could not be serious. But there was no smile on his face and she definitely would not put it past him. Merlin knows how much he had already stolen from their poor Potions professor.

Finally, she decided it would be safer to just tell him the truth.

She pulled several articles she had cut from the Daily Prophet from her pocket and handed them to him wordlessly. He studied them for a moment before giving her a sympathetic look.

"I should have known this would effect you," he said. "I just didn't know it would upset you so much. Nothing's happened to your family, has it?"

Lily shook her head.

"And you haven't been threatened?"

She shook her head again.

James smiled slightly. "Then I don't know what you're so worried about. Everything will work out. You'll see."

Lily inhaled shakily again, but could feel herself calming down.

James put a comforting arm around her.

"We still have a year and a half at Hogwarts," he said. "We're safe here. It may be the only safe place in the world, but at least we're safe."

"You're right," Lily said, speaking for the first time in a while. "I don't know why I was upset. It was stupid."

James frowned again. "Don't say that," he said. "It wasn't stupid. You aren't stupid. You had every right to be worried. It _is _dangerous out there. We can't ignore that fact. But you really shouldn't be beating yourself up over something you can't help."

"That's the problem!" Lily cried. "I _want _to help! I want to fight, but I can't because I'm just a kid. I feel so helpless trapped in this school while innocent people are dying every day. When my parents are among those innocent people, there won't be anything the ministry can do to stop me. I'll run away from school and find Voldemort myself if I have to."

James laughed nervously. "Whoa, kid," he said. "Wait a minute. What makes you think you can stop Voldemort by yourself?"

"I don't know," she said. "I probably can't, but at least I'll die feeling like I at least tried."

"Better men than you have tried," he said solemnly. "I've lost too many family members to even count to Lord Voldemort. I don't need to lose you, too. I don't know what I'd do then."

Lily watched him closely, but his eyes were serious. He was not joking. She sniffed to hold back the tears that she felt coming again.

"It's okay," James said softly. "You can cry if you want to."

That was all he needed to say. Lily knew that even if he had told her she was not allowed to cry, there wasn't anything that could have stopped her.

She began to sob into her hands and James pulled her to him. Resting her head against his chest, she cried harder than she had ever cried before. He wrapped his arms around her and just let her cry.

After a long time, Lily finally stopped crying. She pulled back away from James and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Thanks," she muttered. "But I still won't go out with you."

James laughed. "I wouldn't dream of asking you now. I'm not that mean."

"Oh, look," a sneering voice from behind them called. "The Mudblood's crying."

Lily did not have to turn around to know who it was.

"No one invited you Snape," James said.

As he stood up and readied his wand, he saw where Snape was looking and put his foot down on the now damp articles still sitting on the ground. He was too late.

"So she's worried about her family," Snape jeered. "How nice. Too bad worrying won't save them. Their condemned because their helpless Muggles."

Lily could not stand much more of this.

"Shut up Snape or I'll-" James began, but he did not finish.

Unable to control her temper, Lily had leapt up and thrown the first hex she could think of. Snape now had flowers growing out of his ears.

James laughed and even Lily calmed down enough to smile a little.

"Looks good, Snape," James said. "But be careful. The grease from your hair will drip down and kill the flowers. It's bad for the environment, you know."

Snape muttered something incoherent and began to walk away.

"You and your Mudblood girlfriend should watch out," he called over his shoulder.

That was one thing that always made James mad. He had never failed to defend Lily, even when she did not want to be defended.

He was raising his wand when Lily appeared at his side.

"No," she whispered. "He's not worth it."

James nodded and sat down again.

"Where do you expect to be in ten years?" Lily asked suddenly, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

This caught James off guard, but he quickly recovered.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't even know what I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Well that's natural," Lily said. "We don't sit around and plan our breakfasts out. Unless of course, you've written down every meal you want to eat on every day for the rest of your life. In which case, I'd consider you a bit of a freak."

"No," James laughed. "I don't plan out my meals weeks ahead of time."

"But surely you have some plans for the future."

James sighed. "Of course I do. I want to be a professional Quidditch player. I want to get married and have fifteen kids. I want to be rich. Fame isn't important. I just want to be able to support my family."

"Fifteen kids in ten years?" Lily said, laughing. "That's pretty impressive."

"Fifteen kids total. Eventually," James clarified. "Not right away."

"I pity any woman who is stupid enough to marry you," Lily said. "Of course, she would probably only do it because you're rich and famous."

"Shut up, Evans," he said lightly. "What about you?"

"Well," she began. "I've always wanted to be a journalist, but now I'm beginning to look at other careers."

"Like what?"

"I think being an Auror would be great. I'd be able to help…for once."

James smiled. "I'm sure you'd make a great Auror," he said. "If you don't break in half during training."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she cried.

"Well, you're just so thin, you might break," he said. "It can't be healthy."

He poked her in the ribs, causing her to squeak.

"Hey, you make a funny noise when I poke you," he said, laughing and poking her again.

"You'd make a funny noise too if I poked you," Lily exclaimed, trying to get away from his finger.

"Not like you," he said, chasing after her when she got up and started running.

Not watching where she was going, Lily stepped out onto the frozen lake. As soon as she did, her foot slipped out from underneath her and she fell. Whether fortunately or not, James was there to catch her.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Then out of nowhere, "Would you be the kind of father who abandons his children and tells them he'll be home later to play with them but doesn't get home until they've been asleep for hours and can't play?"

"What?" James stared. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you strike me as either being a father who didn't give a care about his children or one who wants to spend every waking minute with them and only leaves to go to work so he can feed them."

James sat down by the lake, sinking slightly in the snow.

"I like kids," he said when Lily had sat down next to him. "I want to have more kids than I can keep up with. I'll do anything for them. I would hope I wouldn't ignore them or become too busy to play with them. I want to be there for everything. I want to hear the first word, see the first step and catch them when they fall down, teach them how to ride a broom, congratulate them when they get their first Hogwarts letter, and be there for their graduations, weddings, and the births of their children. If it happens, I want to be there."

Lily smiled. "You'll make a good dad some day."

This was a side of James Potter Lily had never seen before. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh at him or hug him. Fortunately, she didn't do either.

"I'm an only child, Evans," James continued. "Do you know what it's like having nobody to play with? It's boring. Not fun at all. Luckily, I have friends who keep me amused."

"I have one sister," Lily said, nodding. "But we never really got along. Sure, she was someone for me to play with when we were both really small, but eventually she got too old for me. At some point around when she turned nine, she decided it wasn't cool to play with younger kids. That's when she became snooty and mean. No, it's not fun being alone."

"What about you?" James asked. "Do you want kids?"

Lily sighed. "Eventually, yes, but definitely not fifteen. No, I couldn't handle fifteen. I just want one or two to raise right. I want to teach them to be good kind people. I'll even use you as an example of what not to be."

"I'm being perfectly nice to you."

"Now, yes," she said. "But what about tomorrow? Tomorrow, if not sooner, you'll go right back to asking me out every chance you get."

"Why are we talking about having kids anyway?" James asked. "We're only sixteen. We still have lots of time to grow up."

"No we don't," Lily said, growing sad again. "Not anymore."

James saw her gaze flicked towards the articles and sighed. He placed his hand over hers and looked into her eyes.

"You have my permission to take your time in growing up," he said gently. "Merlin knows I've taken mine."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks," she muttered. "But some of us don't have a choice."

"Is there something else bothering you?"

She blinked back more tears.

"No," she choked.

He immediately saw through her.

"What's wrong now?" he asked. "Are you still worried about saving your family? Because I thought we had cleared that up."

"No, it's not that," Lily said.

"Then what?"

"It's just-" She paused. "My mother would never forget about me, not even if I was stuck at school for Christmas or if she's busy planning my sister's wedding. She would never forget about me."

"Did she?"

Lily nodded. "That's what I hope happened. I didn't hear from her at all today. She didn't send presents or even a Christmas card."

"And you're afraid something happened," James finished for her.

She nodded again.

"I'm sure she's fine," he comforted. "If you don't hear from her by tonight, I will personally go with you to see Dumbledore first thing in the morning."

Lily smiled, wiping her eyes once again.

"Thanks, James," she said, hugging him and not even realizing she had used his first name.

"Oi! Who died?"

Lily let go of James and they both turned around to see who had spoken.

"What are you doing out here?" James asked his best friend.

"I was looking for you," Sirius said. "Merlin, it's cold out here. I hate living in England. I personally think I'd do much better in Mexico or some place like that."

For the first time, Lily and James realized just how cold and wet they were.

"Anyway," Sirius continued. "I know you've told be a hundred times before that if you're getting along with Evans I shouldn't interrupt, but I thought you should know that the Slytherins have a full-out choir performance going in the Great Hall. They're singing every Christmas carol known to man and it doesn't seem like Dumbledore is going to make them stop anytime soon. Of course, they look like want to stop, but that's out of their control."

"Why doesn't McGonagall do something?" Lily asked.

"Well, it seems she got locked in her office somehow," Sirius said with a twinkle in his eye. "And no bit of magic can get her out. It's incredibly coincidental. Half the staff is trying to get her out."

James laughed and even Lily had to smile.

"Hurry up, Prongs," Sirius said urgently. "You don't want to miss their big finale. Moony and Wormtail are in there making sure everything goes according to plan."

James stood up and dried his robes. Then, he offered a hand to Lily.

"Coming?" he asked.

She smiled and let him help her up.

"I guess so," she sighed. "I could use some entertainment."

* * *

**A/N: **Aww, they're being nice. Isn't it cute?

Yes, HBP is a fun ruiner. But I have to admit that I like this time of year. It's the time when all readers sit in anticipation to read the next installment of the Harry Potter series while authors hurry up and try to finish their fics before it's released (guilty). Those with long stories just sit and wait to see if all of their theories are going to be proved or disproved. And then it's released and all of fanfiction hits pause for a day or two while they read the book. After that, chaos insues. Most of the stories become AU and "Pre HBP" will appear in many summaries. Yes, it's definitely exciting. Can't wait!

There's only one more chapter left! I'm so depressed. This all came and went so quickly. Expect a long author's note at the end of chapter 7. I have to thank everyone.

The last chapter will be posted on Sunday, but probably not until Sunday night. I have to go home to visit my family before I leave on Monday.

So, Lily and James are getting closer. What could possibly happen next? Hmm...

Thanks for reading! I'll see you at chapter 7 (the last)!


	7. Year Seven

**Rendezvous by the Lake**

**Disclaimer:** After seven chapters I still don't own anything.

**Summary:** Lily and James had many rendezvous by the lake over their years at Hogwarts. Some were more pleasant than others.

**Year Seven**

It was seventh year and James was falling fast.

He woke up on a particularly sunny day and smiled. He had been waiting for a sunny day, which was unusually hard to come by in England. But, after an extremely long wait, the sun was finally out and there was not a cloud in sight.

Today was the day.

"Everybody up!" he cried.

His three roommates and best friends immediately awoke.

"What's the matter, Prongs?" Remus asked, looking alarmed. "Is Hogwarts on fire?"

"Not quite, Moony," James replied. "Look outside and tell me what you see."

"A lot of sunshine," Peter offered.

"Exactly!"

"Damn it," Sirius whined, falling back onto his pillow. "You're really going to go through with this, aren't you?"

"Of course," James said. "I've been planning it for months. It will be perfect."

"Could you maybe do it without my help?" Sirius asked, burying his face in his pillow.

James looked at his other friends for help. They were already up and getting ready, but did not act like they were willing to help.

"Of course not, Padfoot," James tried again. "I need you to do your job. It's the most important one."

Instead of responding, Sirius began to snore.

Rolling his eyes, James lifted up Sirius's mattress and watched his friend fall off the bed.

"James!" Sirius cried from the floor. "What the hell was that for?"

"Get going, Sirius," James said, ignoring Sirius's curses. "There's a lot to be done. Hurry up!"

Once he was sure that all of his friends were doing what they were supposed to be doing, James started to prepare, too. He started writing down everything he could possibly think of but nothing was right. Hopefully something would come to him. He had waited a long time for this and nothing was going to mess it up.

Several hours later, after making sure everything was perfect, James stood waiting under the tree by the lake.

He briefly thought about running away but quickly decided against it. That was the cowardly, Hufflepuff thing to do. He was brave. He just had to keep telling himself that. He was brave. Although, he really wished he could trade in his Gryffindor bravery for some Ravenclaw wisdom right about now. It might help if he knew what he was doing. He had decided to wing it.

James looked up and saw Lily walking down the front steps of the castle. He unconsciously stopped breathing.

This had to be done. Seventh year was almost over and hecould not leave without doing this. He would never forgive himself.

The distance between the two of them shortened as Lily slowly walked closer to where he was standing. Then, he blinked and she was right in front of him.

"Sirius said you wanted to speak with me," she said.

Lily and James had stopped fighting and arguing around Christmas of sixth year. They were never what you could call friends but more like civil acquaintances. James had stopped asking her out around that time and Lily had calmed down slightly because of it.

Of course, just because he had stopped asking her out did not mean he did not like her any more. It was quite the opposite, which was what brought the two together that bright sunny morning.

"Yeah," James started. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Sure," Lily said, taking a seat on the ground. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," he replied quickly, sitting down beside her. "Of course not."

Where was that stupid creature? That was Remus's job. He should not have put Remus in charge of something so important. Unfortunately, Remus was the most trustworthy of theMarauders.

There was a small squeal and a House Elf came flying around the corner of the castle, holding a basket and rubbing its backside. Sirius could be seen briefly in the direction the House Elf came from before fleeing again.

James dropped his head into his hand. This was already going horribly wrong.

Lily looked confused, but the House Elf approached them before she could say anything.

"Breakfast," the House Elf squeaked, casting evil glances at James. "Enjoy."

It left in a hurry without so much as a second look at the two.

"That was…odd," Lily said, eyeing the basket warily, as if afraid it was jinxed.

"Yeah," James mumbled. "Well, how about some breakfast then."

He handed Lily a muffin and instructed her to eat it. She did as she was told.

"Why aren't you eating?" she asked.

"I don't think I could keep food down right now," he replied.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm nervous."

"About NEWTs?"

"No, not exactly."

He paused, trying to think of how to approach this.

"It's like playing Quidditch," he started.

"You're nervous about Quidditch?" Lily asked. "You're never nervous about Quidditch."

"No, it's not Quidditch," he said. "It's _like _Quidditch."

"Oh."

James took a deep breath and tried again.

"It's like Quidditch because in Quidditch the Chasers have to make decisions. They have to decide in a split-second whether or not to make a shot and if they decide it's too risky, they don't take the chance. I'm in a position that Chasers find themselves in all the time. It's very risky. I can either take the shot and risk missing or pass up the opportunity and spend the rest of my life wondering if I would have made it.

Luckily, I've had more than a split-second to make up my mind, and I hope I've made the right choice. Toast?"

"No thanks," Lily muttered. "James, what are you-"

"Lily, will you be my girlfriend?" James rushed.

Lily was silent for what seemed like an eternity. So, James felt the need to explain himself.

"I know you never really liked me," he said. "You used to tell me I was a bully and a prat. 'Bullying toerag' I believe were your exact words for me once, but I've changed and I know you've noticed. I changed for you because you meant that much to me. But I guess first impressions really do make a difference. I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I'm sorry."

He paused before continuing.

"I'm really sorry. I took the shot and I missed. Oh well, at least I tried."

Lily quickly placed her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up and listen, Potter," she ordered. "Yes, I used to dislike you, but I never hated you. You simply had a habit of making me mad. You would run around with your friends pulling childish pranks and hexing Slytherins, but you always made me laugh."

"How so?"

"Because no matter what you were doing," she continued. "You always had time to stop and make a fool out of yourself in front of me."

"So…?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'll be your girlfriend."

An idiotic grin spread across his face.

"Ten points for Potter!" he exclaimed, punching the air.

Lily began to laugh.

"So you planned this?" she asked. "The breakfast and all?"

"Yes," he replied.

"What was wrong with that House Elf?" she continued, looking concerned. "Did you threaten it?"

"No," he said. "But I think Sirius might have."

"Aw, the poor thing," she sighed. "It's probably scared to death or scarred for life or both. We should go make sure it's alright."

"We can go later," James told her.

Lily seemed to accept this.

There was a rustling sound in the shrubs by the castle.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered urgently.

He narrowed his eyes in the direction of the noise and groaned when he caught sight of a large black dog.

"What is it?"

"An animal," he replied, hoping against hope that Sirius would not do something stupid. "A big fat stupid animal."

The dog growled causing Lily to start slightly. Then, it leapt from the bushes, pounced on Lily, and began licking her face.

"James!" she cried, laughing. "Help!"

James grabbed the bear-like dog by the neck andtried topull it away.

"Get off, you stupid creature," he said. "She's _my _girlfriend."

The dog began to bark excitedly.

"We'll get it, Prongs," Remus cried, jogging into sight with Peter close behind him. They chased the animal around to the other side of the castle.

"Is that your dog?" Lily asked, confused.

"Sort of. It belongs to Sirius. He snuck it into the castle."

Just then, Sirius came walking around the corner from the same direction that Remus, Peter, and the big black dog had just gone in.

"Hey!" he greeted. "I nearly got run over by Remus, Peter, and some adorable puppy. What are you two up to today?"

"That 'adorable puppy' is your dog, Sirius," James said through gritted teeth. "It's okay, I told Lily how you snuck it into the castle."

Sirius cast him a look of confusion, but realization soon dawned on him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Right. Please don't tell on me, Lily."

"I won't," she said, laughing.

"Thank you!" He threw himself at her and wrapped her in a great hug.

"Sirius!" Lily cried. "Get off! I can't breathe!"

He released her and she shook her head.

"I don't suppose I could persuade you to forget about him?" she whispered to James.

He looked surprised at first, but then smiled. "No," he whispered back. "The Marauders come with the territory. Sorry."

"Damn."

"Hmm," Sirius interrupted. "Telling secrets. That's a very odd thing for the two of you to do. You didn't say yes, did you Evans?"

She nodded and did something James had only dreamed she would do. She placed her hand in his and put her head on his shoulder.

Sirius looked very surprised and very happy all at the same time. "What's wrong with you, Evans?" he asked, smiling. "I thought you had more sense than that."

Lily laughed and squeezed James's hand slightly.

"Moony! Wormtail!" Sirius cried. "It worked!"

Remus and Peter walked back around the corner, both looking very pleased.

"Finally."

"It's about time."

"You were all in on this?" Lily asked.

"We didn't exactly have a choice," Sirius muttered. "Your control freak of a boyfriend gave us instructions and ordered us to follow them."

"It had to be done somehow," James replied. "And I don't know anyone else who would have been willing to help."

"So, Sirius's job was to get me," Lily ticked off on her fingers.

"And Remus's job was to get the food and house elf," James continued. "And Peter's job would have been to run up to me if you said no and tell me that some first year wanted to tell me thanks for saving him from a gang of Slytherins or something."

Lily laughed. "You had everything planned out, didn't you?"

"I wasn't going to let you get away that easily."

Sirius made a gagging noise and Remus quickly suggested that the three of them go inside and get some breakfast so Lily and James could be alone.

"Do they always follow you everywhere?" Lily asked once they had left.

"You'll get used to it," James answered. "Just try not to beat Sirius up anymore."

"I haven't done that since…"

"Last week."

"Oh. Alright, I'll try."

James smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Lily looked very surprised. Suddenly, James thought that maybe he should not have done that. Maybe she wasn't comfortable with that yet. But she simply smiled and put her head back on his shoulder.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Why did you wait so long to ask me out?" Lily asked suddenly.

"I was waiting for the sun to come out," James replied.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to ask you outside by the lake."

"Why?"

"Because this is where we first met, remember?" She nodded. "And this is where I first asked you out. And this is where we've formed more than one peace treaty of sorts."

"We've had a lot of memories by this lake haven't we?" she asked.

"We have," he replied, looking into her eyes. "So I found it fitting to ask you here."

Lily smiled up at him and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

They were walking around the lake now. James looked at the crystal clear water and thoughtof the giant squid somewhere underneath it.

"James," Lily said, breaking the silence. "Do you remember that time in first year when you-"

But James had cut her off by letting go of her hand and pushing her into the water.

"Potter!" she spluttered, coming up for air. "I can't believe you!"

He knew it wasn't the best thing to do, but he couldn't help it. He started to laugh. He was soon very happy to hear Lily's laugh joining his.

"Help me out," she said, extending her hand for him to pull her up. He took hold of it, but before he could do anything else, Lily gave an almighty tug and pulled him into the water with her.

"Merlin, Lily," he exclaimed when he resurfaced. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," she replied. "I've been waiting seven years to do that."

James smiled and took hold of a strand of her very wet auburn hair.

"You're a very spiteful person, Lily Evans," he said, tugging it gently.

"I know. And you're a prat."

"Some things can't be helped."

Without thinking, James leaned forward and kissed Lily slowly and gently. He was ecstatic when she returned the kiss.

She was his girlfriend. Finally. He would work so hard to never lose her. She was special and he wanted her forever.

Luckily, dreams do come true.

* * *

**A/N: **It's over! Squee! It's exciting yet depressing all at once. I don't know whether to dance or cry.

As most of you know, I am leaving for England tomorrow. I'll be there for three weeks, and when I come back I'll start writing again. So, look for more stories from me in a few weeks. It will probably be a few one-shots until I get my next multi-chapter organized. I have an idea which probably won't be affected by HBP, but I want to wait and make sure just in case.

Yes, there was a mistake in Chapter six. Thank you**charmedunderharry'sspell**for catching that. I should be "I know you've told me" and not "I know you've told be". Thanks!

Thanks for reading this story! My reviewers have been very supportive. If I had time, I would thank each and every one of you personally, but I can't. Thanks for your help! You guys are the best!

I'll see you in three weeks with a new story! I hope everyoneenjoys this and HBP!

Thanks,

Cat


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